Golf-club straightener



v March 2 1926. 1,575,023

JQWALTON GOLF CLUB v'aTRAIGHTENER Filed Feb. 27, 1925 INVENTUR Patented Mar. Z, '1926.

UNITED STATES;

JACKSON WALTON, 0F TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

corr-CLUB STRAIGHTENEB.

Application led February 27, 1923. Serial No. 621,662.

To all whom 'it may concern.' n

Be it known that I, JACKSON VVAL'roN, of the city of Toronto, in the county ofYork, Province of Ontario, Canada, a subject of the King of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf-Club Straighteners, of which the following is a specification. n

My object is to devise simple and easily applied means for holding golf clubs when not in use so as to prevent them from warping and for straightening golf clubs which have become warped or bent.

I attain my object by means of a cylinder provided with longitudinal grooves in its surface into which the shafts of the clubsi'uay be pressed under elastic pressure to contact therewith along one or more lines longitudinal of thek shaft. To firmly hold the shafts in the grooves as aforesaid more or less elastic binders are provided which are wrapped round the cylinder and the shafts positioned in the groove at a plurality of points and suitably fastened.

The invention ishereinafter more specifically described and is illustrated in the ac-v companying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my device showing a single golf club carried thereby;

Fig. 2 a cross section of my device, on a larger scale, showing a number of golf clubs carried thereby; and

Fig. 3 a cross section of a modified form of my device.

In the drawings likenumera-ls of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

1 is a cylinder having a series oflongitudinal grooves or flutings 2 formed in the surface thereof. The cylinder is formed of wood having a hole 3 longitudinally and substantially concentrically formed therein to reduce the weight of the cylindei'. 'lvo prevent the cylinder from warping it is farmed in two or more longitudinal parts l and lb which are suitably ]oined together preferably by gluing them.

Golf clubs are all provided with a head 4, a shank or shaft 5 and a hand gri 6 formed on the upper portion of the s aft. The shaft is formed of wood havin a selected grain to permit the shaft to slig tly bend if the head 4 should accidentaly strike the ground when the golf ball is being struck. From the above it will. readily be seen that thenature of the wood inthe shaft 5 greatly facilitates the warping of the latter under climatic conditions or from the conditions of use which changes the relationship of the handle and the head and makes the action of the club uncertain, thus rendering the club useless.

To prevent the shafts from warping, or to straighten them if they become warped, the grooves or fiutings 2 are adapted to partly receive these shafts and the cylinder is of sufficient length so that the shafts are engaged for substantially their entire length between the hand grip 6 and the connecting point of the'head 4 (see Fig. l). To hold the shafts in engagement with the grooves 2, I provide a plurality of flexible binders or straps 7 adapted to pass around and apply pressure to the shafts 5, the binders being provided with buckles 8 whereby the desired pressure of the binders on the shafts may be maintained. Preferably three of these binders are used one adjacent each end of the cylinder and the third being located midway between the ends of the cylinder. The binders, preferably formed of webbing which is somewhat elastic, are wound at least once completely around the shafts 5 and then on the second or third winding the ends are held by means of the buckles 8. From the above it is evident that it is not necessary to place shafts in all the grooves as the binders will engagethe sur-' face of the cylinder where there is no shaft without lessening the pressure against Vthe shaft or shafts in the grooves 2.

Referring to the cross sectional views Figs. 2 and 3, it will. be noted that the grooves 2 are substantially semi-circular in Fig. 2 and that they slight-ly flare outwardly adjacent the perimeter of the cylinder. lVith this construction the shafts 5 only engage the bottoni of the groove while the aiigularly shaped grooves 2'Ll shown in Figure 3 en-V gages the shaft along two lines longitudinally of the groove. In either case the shaft projects beyond the perimeter of the cyliiider so that the binder may apply pressure directly on the shaft to hold it tightly and firmly against the groove. If the shaft is bent or warped it is obvious that under the pressure applied by the binders the L shaft vlwill be straightened or if the shaft is v4straight that this straightening device will prevent it from warping.

*After a game is over the golfergipositions :his clubs in the grooves 2 or 2a aiidwraps Cil them; with the binders 6 and then places the clubs and the straightener in his golf caddy bag instead of inserting the clubs loosely into the bag. This device is thus specially adapted for use when the clubs are put away for the Winter, for safely transporting the clubs and lessening their chances of being broken While in transit and for preventing the heads of the clubs from rattling against one another. That I elairn as iny invention is A golf club straightener comprising a cylinder having a plurality oi longitudinal grooves formed in its surface, each groove being angularly shaped and adapted to rel ceive the shaft of a golf club so that the shaft projects beyondthe perimeter of the cylinder and adapted to engage the shaft along two lines longitudinally7 ot' the groove, and av plurality of flexible elastic binders for applying pressure, at several places to the shafts in the `grooves.

Signed at Toronto, Can., this 21st day ot February, 1923.

JACKSON WAL-TON. 

